Thomas lee



T. LEE. FREIGHT CAR.

Patented Sept. 13, 1881 Wma;

5 fnyenr.'

(No Model.)

UNITED SrNrEs PATENT 'QErICIaQ`v THOMAS LEE, OE OINOINNATI, OHIO, AssIoNoE OE ONE-HALE To oLIvEE KINsEY, OE sAME PLAOE.

FREIGHTLOAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,076, dated September 13, 1881.

Application iiled July 5, 1881. (No modelJ' 'To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS LEE, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Grain and Freight Gars, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical sectional 1o view of a car equipped with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view, looking from the top, with the oar-root` removed. Fig. 3 is a top view of the floor, showing the arrangement of the door-guards. Fig. 4 is a perspective eleva- I5 'tion ot` one of the door-guards. Fig. 5 is an Y end view of the car, showing arrangement of the weight, pulleys, and ropes; and Fig. 6 is a side view of the same.

' The object of my invention is to construct 2o an improved grain-car; and it consists, first, in having a chute or hopper formed centrally in the oor of the car; and, second, in providing the interior of the car with two grain-receptacles, of even size in width with the in- 2 5 terior of -the car, hinged to the edges of the chute on both sides, and adapted to be elevated so that the grain will be tilted into the eentral chute and be conveyed thence to suitable bins or vehicles.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents the body of a car, and B an inclined chute or hopper projecting downwardly centrally from the car-floor. This chute is provided below with an ordinary cnt-off plate or 3 5 slide, C, for checking the flow of the grain.

There is, however, no special merit claimed in this invention for the chute; hence it is not here described in detail.

Near each end of the car is a vertical parti- 4o tion, A', extending up near to the top or roof of the car. The interior of the car is provided with a grain-receptacle, D. This is formed of a base-plate or floor, a, composed of wood or metal, preferably the latter, and extends from the edge of the central chute to a point near the partition A. This base-plate a, is hinged along the line ofthe chute, at D', to the iloor, and it is further providedwith sides b and end c, as shown. When constructed in this 5o manner it is obvious that this grain-receptacle can be elevated or turned on the hinge D'. For the purpose of more readily elevating these tilting grain-receptacles,'and also to furnish counter-weights for more easily raising them,

pulleys E are securedat the ends of the cars, near the roof within, and ropes E', secured to the base of the grain-receptacles D, pass over thesev pulleys and down into Athe chamber formed by the partitions A', when they are attached to weights F. `A rope, L, .is attached to the under side of these weights,` which' eX- tends'down to a transverse shaft, M, near the floor ol' the car. The shaftM passesthro'ugh one side of the car, and is provided with a crank, N, for elevating the tilting grain-receptacles D.

G represents a supplementary car-door used in connection with the tilting grain-receptacles. Fig. 4 shows their construction in detail. l form these doors preferably of two platesan outer one, G, and an inner one, G'. These are made of equal dimensions and provided with a vertical hatten, H, between them centrally, l and riveted together. The outer and inner plates have sufficient space between them to permit the side pieces, b, of the tilting grainreceptaele to pass in, as shown in Fig. 3. To provide against leakage of grain between the outer and inner plates, G G', and between the outer plate, G, and the inner side ofthe doorpost, I line the inner surface of the inner plate, G', and the outer surface of the outer plate, G, with felt, rubber, or other suitable lining or padding, K. These supplementary doors extend past the jambs of the car-doors a suitable distance, and are held in position by means of braces I, riveted to the door at I', and provided at the ends with downwardly-projecting points or lugs J, which are adapted to be placed in staples or sockets in the jambs ot' the caropeningV or door-frame.

It "will be observed in Fig. 3 that the supplementary car-doors have been removed from the doorways and placed on the car-floor lon gitudinally side by side. The object of this is to convertthegrain-carintoan ordinary freightcar for common freight purposes. The supplementary car-doors G thus cover the hopper B; and suitable braces, if desired, can be placed transversely under thedoors to keep them from IOC springing when freight is taken in or ott the car. The grain-receptacles D form a permanent interior casing for the car, and do not diminish the Hoor-area or in any manner interfere with shipping goods of any character that are usually transported in box-cars.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The cut-off plate or slide C at the base of the hopper being closed and locked and the grainreceptacles secured in position, (shown in Fig. 1,) the supplementary doors G are placed in position in the doorways, so that the side plates, b, enter between the plates G G. The car is then filled with grain, and when ready to unload the cutoff plate or slide C is drawn out, permitting the grain to pass down into proper chutes or receptacles. The cranks N are now put into operation, drawing down the weights and elevating the tilting receptacles, as shown by dotted lines w in Fig. l,

I am aware that it is not new to use the supplementary car-doors to form a bottom for the car, and I do not claim this broadly. Heretofore it has been customary to hinge this inside or supplementary door to the car; but in the present invention it is made loose and detachable, as shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A car provided with the oppositely-disposed hinged grain-receptacles D, in combination with theweightsF, to be used as-a counterbalance, substantially as set forth.

2. A supplementary car-door composed of two plates, G G', secured to each other, with a hatten, H, between, and provided on the edges, as shown, with felt, rubber, or other packing material, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. Ihe tilting grain-receptacles hinged to the floor of the car, in combination with the loose and detachable supplementary car-doors, as herein shown.

4. A grain-car having centrally through the floor the chute O,in combination with the loose and detachable supplementary doors G, as described,laid longitudinally over the chute, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a grain-car,tlie combination of the tilting grainreceptacles D, hinged to the car-oor, having the rope E- and weight F, the rope L,

shaft M, and crank N, with the supplementary doors Gr, having the Afastenings I, as and for the purpose specified. l

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I .have hereunto set may hand this lst day of 

